Baltimore's city solicitor on Wednesday came out to correct what he said was a false claim by Baltimore's police union that the city would now leave officers on the hook for damages in lawsuits.

"The statement was flatly wrong in several respects and deeply misleading in other respects," City Solicitor Andre M. Davis said.

The Baltimore Sun reports the union warned members in an email that Davis changed longstanding policy of the city paying punitive and compensatory damages awarded as a result of officers' actions on the job.

"Since punitive damages cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, the successful citizen can file an attachment against your wages taking 25 percent of your bi-weekly pay check until the amount of the punitive judgment is satisfied," union president Gene Ryan wrote.

Davis said that's not the whole story. He said the Local Government Tort Claims Act doesn't require local governments to pay punitive damages, and keeps local governments from entering into agreements to cover them in all cases. He said that that has been the law department's policy for decades.

"The statute reflects the ordinary common sense notion that if government employees are told that no matter how badly they misbehave, no matter how maliciously they inflict harm or injuries on their fellow citizens, their employer will pay for that harm, then we can expect an increase in such harm," Davis said. "Employees, including police officers who, no doubt have the most difficult job in government, are not privileged to inflict gratuitous injury on others without also incurring personal consequences."

He said it's inaccurate to assume that punitive damages are awarded in cases with no proven malice by officers, and that where an officer's lawyer believes punitive damages were inappropriately awarded, he would push to have those awards overturned. He added that no officer should have to pay legal costs in any case.

However, he said he will consider any officer's request for indemnification on a case-by-case basis, in keeping with department policy.

“Instead of speaking out forcefully to encourage FOP members to police in a professional and constitutional manner, as the Commissioner-Designate [Darryl De Sousa] has promised will be his guiding light, and as the federal court consent decree mandates the Police Department to achieve, the FOP leadership’s message seems to be an attempt to dissuade officers from continuing to do their challenging jobs in good faith reliance on the City’s contractual and state law obligation to protect them from baseless lawsuits. This is unfortunate and troubling," Davis said.

"Nevertheless, the Law Department will always stand with our officers and give them the legal defense, counsel, and such additional training as may be needed so that they remain on the constitutional side of urban policing in the twenty-first century at all times."